Georgia Panels Asks Board To Raise Standards for Administrators

Finding wide disparities in current practices, Georgia's
Professional Standards Commission has recommended that the state board
of education raise standards for the training, licensing, and
evaluation of school administrators.

Specifically, the 20-member commission called for a more rigorous
process of assessing the skills of education administrators, higher
standards for university programs that train them, and stricter
licensing requirements for elementary-school principals.

The commission, which was set up by the legislature, based its
recommendations on the findings of a 1983 survey of the state's 187
public-school superintendents, who were asked to evaluate the
principals in their school systems, and on those of a 1982 survey of
1,000 principals in the state.

Core Curriculum

Eighty-five percent of the 182 superintendents responding to the
survey said they were "entirely" or "mostly" satisfied with the
performance of their principals. A majority (57 percent) also said the
quality of applicants for administrative positions had improved over
the past five years.

But while the superintendents identified "instructional leadership"
as the principal's most important role, only half said they were
"entirely" or "mostly" satisified with their principals' ability to
evaluate instruction.

In addition to courses in how to supervise a school's instructional
program, the superintendents identified five areas in which principals
should be trained during their academic careers. These included
curriculum development, personnel evaluation, general school
administration, education and the law, and staff development.

On the basis of this finding, the standards commission recommended
that the state board mandate a "core curriculum" for
educational-administration programs6that would include courses in the
cited areas as well as classes on educational leadership.

Selection and Recruitment

Ninety percent of the superintendents surveyed reported that their
school systems did not have published policies or guidelines to help
select or recruit principals. The commission noted "no consistency" in
the selection process. In particular, it pointed to a finding of the
1982 survey that only 20 percent of elementary principals had received
a bachelor's degree in elementary education.

The commission called on local school systems to develop and publish
well-defined written policies and procedures to recruit and select
principals. It also recommended the establishment of a model program to
help in the early identification and recruitment of potential
administrators and the creation of a "leadership academy" that would
work with school administrators to strengthen principals in their
instructional role.

Written Evaluations

Ninety-five percent of the superintendents reported that they
evaluated principals in some manner, most commonly with an annual
checklist or written evaluation. Most superintendents said they used
these evaluations to suggest or recommend inservice training for
principals.

In response to those findings, the commission recommended that
school systems at a minimum provide an annual written evaluation of
each principal.

In assessing principals' influence over various policy areas, the
super-intendents reported that principals have the most authority in
evaluating instruction, formulating school-discipline procedures, and
determining extracurricular programs. They also reported that
principals have the most say in hiring and retention decisions,
deployment of school personnel, and school-level governance. Their
authority is minimal over school budgets and the management of
federally mandated programs, those superintendents surveyed said.

According to Suzann R. Harrison, executive secretary for the
standards commission, the state board will probably consider the
recommendations of the commission along with those of its own task
force on school leadership later this year. The board is also expected
to weigh relevant recommendations from a gubernatorial Education Review
Commission, which is scheduled to complete a report next month.

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